News headlines in 2023, page 190

More people globally are being affected by disasters than ever before, despite the adoption of a UN-backed international disaster reduction agreement in 2015. Experts from around the world are gathering at UN Headquarters to speed up efforts to fully implement that agreement to bring about a safer world.

ROME, May 12 (IPS) - A much needed break amidst so many alarming news, with a brief story of a tree, a bottle of liquid gold, and a wedding gift.

CAIRO, Egypt / JUBA, South Sudan, May 12 (IPS) - Events in Sudan have been a constant topic of conversation in Cairo's coffee houses since the violence erupted there four weeks ago. The images of almost 30 Egyptian soldiers briefly detained in Sudan by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militias and the death of an Egyptian diplomat in Khartoum caused a stir in Egypt.

UNITED NATIONS, May 12 (IPS) - The world’s news media -- both under authoritarian regimes and democratic governments-- continue to come under relentless attacks and political harassment.

Raising concerns on Friday about fresh restrictions on migrants and refugees following the United States’ lifting of a COVID-19 pandemic-era measure known as Title 42, UN agencies called for great multilateral action to regularize movement across the continent.

There are “strong indications” that more than 500 people were killed – the vast majority summarily executed – by Malian troops and foreign military personnel during a five-day operation in the village of Moura in central Mali in March 2022.

UN agencies spent Friday buckling down with communities across Bangladesh and Myanmar, bracing for Cyclone Mocha, which is expected to hit the region by the weekend.

A declaration by Sudan’s warring parties committing to protect civilians is an “important first step”, after more than three weeks of heavy fighting, the UN’s top official in the African nation said on Friday.

JOHANNESBURG, May 11 (IPS) - In the deep rural village of Jekezi in South Africa's Eastern Cape, most young and able-bodied people have fled the area, leaving behind people with disabilities, the elderly, and children.

BANJUL, The Gambia, May 11 (IPS) - In the heart of The Gambia, an intrepid young woman called Fatou Juka Darbor is blazing a trail for women fuelled by her fiery passion for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics).